


Backstories of Paladins

by CaptCara



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Abuse, Adoption, Angst, Anxiety, Backstory, Cheating, Mental Abuse, Neglect, Physical Abuse, failing marriage, family expectations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 12:50:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13764555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptCara/pseuds/CaptCara
Summary: I had this thought a couple of weeks ago about how the characters in Voltron don't really bond in a way where they become family. I do love Voltron, but I really wanted to play with that idea and gave each of the characters different backstories.





	1. Chapter 1

Hunk Garrett

Hunk was born to a neglectful mother in a somewhat decent neighborhood. His father had left him and his mother when he was 5, shortly after his younger sister was born. 

His aunt soon moved in with her three kids after her husband had left her after she threatened him with violence and he had a restraining order on her. His aunt was an alcoholic and constantly drank some form of liquor. His mother mostly did drugs, which resulted in the two sisters fighting whenever they were both high and extremely drunk. The two bedroom apartment soon became too crowded for everyone, so they had to buy a cheaper apartment in the worse part of town with more crime happening. It had more rooms but gave more things to Hunk and his cousins and sister to be scared of. 

The crimes were mostly related to burglary, drug trade, assault, and sometimes even kidnapping.

One of Hunk’s cousins was kidnapped when she snuck out of the house one day after arguing with her mother. Hunk’s aunt knew that she hated her kids and wanted them gone. She knew that her daughter was kidnapped, but didn’t inform the police. Whenever she was asked about her missing daughter, she would simply say that she ran away. 

Hunk was often bullied at school for being bigger than the others.This caused Hunk to not have much confidence in his looks. Hunk didn’t have any friends due to the bullying and even developed anxiety due to the bullying at school and the neglect at home. 

However, he would often go to the library and read up on famous engineers and the creation of different inventions. This was Hunk’s more fond memories. He could easily understand the more advanced books at a young age and his teachers in math and sciences and mechanics took notice of that talent. 

Whilst he was praised by his teachers, only his younger sister ever did congratulate him on his for his accomplishments. 

His aunt was often really drunk or out of the house with her ‘friends’ and so didn’t really care what her nephew did. His cousin was hanging out with the wrong crowd and started to experiment with drugs when they started high school. Hunk could guess that this was his cousin's way of dealing with losing their sibling. And his mother often complained about how Hunk looked nothing like her and had to instead had to be a walking reminder of her useless husband. 

His father never once called or tried to get into contact with Hunk, his daughter or his wife. Hunk later found out that his father went to join the army, but died a while after going into active combat. His father's side of the family never approved of him having relations with Hunk’s mom, so they never called or contacted Hunk. 

Hunk never really celebrated Christmas or a proper Birthday since his 4th one when his dad was still around. His mom would barely make enough money to pay the bills and never enough to buy a present for either of her children.

Hunk was often neglected and not looked after. His mother often told him that he would do them all a huge favor by working instead of going to school. He was already taking care of the household by cleaning and cooking everything for everyone. He quickly grew up to take care of his sister and himself. 

Hunk knew that his life wasn’t normal and would tell his sister about how different their lives would be if they had different parents.

During class one day, Hunk was called into the principal's office. Hunk never got into a fight or caused trouble, so he was nervous. 

Once in the office, he met some people from the child protective service and start to ask Hunk some questions. Apparently, someone anonymously called them and told them that he and his cousins and sister were being neglected and not properly taken care of. 

At first, Hunk wouldn’t talk due to being nervous. However, after some talking, Hunk told them everything. 

Before he knew it, his mother and aunt were arrested, faced trial and were sent to jail. 

His cousin ended up being put into a foster care a couple of states away. They were eventually adopted.

Hunk and his sister ended up in the same foster care. 

Hunk was the oldest in the orphanage, which meant not many parents coming in would really look at him or even talk to him.

Due to her being so young, his sister would naturally be looked at first by any potential parent. Hunk knew this and while it would hurt to see his sister go, he knew he wanted her to have the best life and possibilities. 

However each time his sister would be looked at by any parent, she would insist that they take her brother as well and not just her. She didn’t want her brother to be left behind. 

This first shocked Hunk, and after the first time of her saying that he hugged her.

One day whilst it was rather hot, two parents came in. The husband looked more stoic and serious, but one could see the glint of excitement in his eyes. He was also bulky and looked like he worked hard labor. The wife, on the other hand, was tall and wore somewhat fancy work clothes that one would typically see at an office and her hair was up in a bun. She wore and calm, but very happy expression. 

They both walked around. The wife talked to the young ones. 

Hunk was sitting off in the corner, already knowing that they wouldn’t pick him. He was reading a book about engineering.

Surprisingly, however, the husband sat next to Hunk and asked him what he was reading. Hunk started to tell him shyly that he was reading a book on engineering parts. Before he knew it, he and the husband soon went on a passionate rant about fixing a car's engine and quizzing one another on different parts and techniques. 

The wife soon joined them with Hunk’s sister pulling her along. She introduced the wife to her big brother and that if they wanted her, they would also have to take her brother. Hunk was already expecting the parents to either try to negotiate with his sister about how they wouldn’t want that or move onto another kid who was young.

But instead, the two didn’t go off to speak on their own. Instead, they spoke in front of them without a problem and discussing how much room they have and how they needed to move anyways.

The husband and wife told the other about how they already love the two of them, causing Hunk to blush at the compliments. 

The wife then turned to the two of them and asked them if they wanted to be adopted.

The two siblings said yes.

In a matter of time, the two moved into their new family home and from then on, their lives went uphill. 

Of course, the two siblings would have nightmares and panic attacks from the years of neglect and abuse and the horrible living environment to boot. The husband and wife made sure to care for them and look after them. They made sure to get them into therapy and comfort that they had been needing for so long.

Hunk soon graduated from high school with some of the best grades of his year. He signed up to be accepted into the Galaxy Garrison. They naturally took him in due to Hunk being a genius when it comes to engineering and ate it up. 

Maybe the Garrison could help provide him a life he wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this thought a couple of weeks ago about how the characters in Voltron don't really bond in a way where they become family. I do love Voltron, but I really wanted to play with that idea and gave each of the characters different backstories.


	2. Takashi Shirogane

Takashi Shirogane

Shiro was born into a traditional Japanese family of high status. His father was a well-known surgeon, whilst his mother was a famous defense attorney. His mother was well known for being in the most watched trials on television and his father was well known for coming up with the cure of a common disease. He was the youngest of a number of older siblings and his parents were slightly old when they had Shiro. 

His siblings were pop idols, scientists, sports stars and famous musicians. The media ate up the fact that the entire family was talented in some way. 

Due to this, there was a lot to be expected by the young Shiro. His parents made him learn instruments, sports, and other activities that had to do with advancing him to be the best and only the best.

He had tutors so he would keep his straight A’s. At a young age, he took lessons in violin, piano, cello, and a couple more classical instruments. He also played in a number of sports and did other activities to the side. His parents set him to have friends from really well to do families who had kids around Shiro’s age. He also joined a number of clubs at school. Pretty much, Shiro was seen as the Golden Boy at his school and community he lived in.

Truthfully, Shiro only ever enjoyed the piano and liked baseball. He only ever liked one of the friends he was set up with whilst the other kids were too annoying to him and stuck up. The clubs he attended mostly didn’t interest him and while the praise was nice from the local people in his neighborhood and by his family on occasion, it tired him.

The praises and expectations tired him. He wanted to be like his fellow classmates and have sleepovers, only be on one sports team, maybe even drop a couple of clubs and all of his instrument classes. 

But knew that his parents would lose their wits end with him if he ever did that. 

Shiro would always be told to think before acting. Not just as a good lesson to have in life, but mainly so that he wouldn’t embarrass his family. He would always be reminded that his family’s reputation was more important than their health.

One time, when Shiro was 5, he got sick before a massive party being held. He had a high fever and would barely think. His father punished him once he was better for not coming to the party by locking him into one of their huge closets during two dinners. 

Needless to say, Shiro was determined to keep his health up after that.

His siblings were something. His oldest ones were already out of the house but came to every Christmas or important party. They never really talked to Shiro or really interacted with him. The only times Shiro could remember them being physically close would be when they would have photos taken.

The few siblings that lived with him only stayed in the house until Shiro was 8, with his older sister leaving for college to study science. 

His other siblings would taunt him or make fun of him when he got a note wrong on the piano or didn’t run fast enough during baseball. They would remind him of all of the achievements they were able to make whilst Shiro hadn’t done anything noteworthy yet. 

His parents weren’t really all that caring. His mother was often too worried about her work to really attend any school events, other than major ones like graduating with honors or something else along those lines. And his father was rarely home himself either and would only really talk about Shiro’s future rather than asking him how his day was. They also in a way encouraged the siblings to tell on each other to their parents if they weren’t acting the way that they were expected to. This caused the siblings to be cautious around each other and never really trusted one another. 

There was one thing his father would always tell the family, to not end up like the second oldest son. From what Shiro could gather over the years and later on research, was that his brother was very rebellious in his youth and when he turned 18 he got kicked out on his birthday. Ever since then, his brother had been the shining example of a failing family member and not meeting their expectations. 

Whenever his brother would be mentioned, Shiro couldn’t help but wonder what he was actually like in comparison to what his parents and siblings told him.

When Shiro was 10, he and his class went to a museum expedition that was showing them about space and space exploration. 

This sparked Shiro into gaining an interest in joining the Garrison. 

His passion was met with approval by his parents. They saw that Shiro could bring the good reputation towards the Galaxy Garrison and made sure to get him prepared to join them as soon as he was done with High School.

During his high school years, Shiro finally got his own computer and started to study to join the Garrison. However, along the way, he also started to connect with others online. He did quickly learned to cover his browsing history and created a second email account for himself. He soon made friends, one of them lasting for long being Matt Holt. He also started to find out more and more that his family's expectations were far too extreme. How Shiro needed to get out of his family, but safely for his own benefit.

So Shiro kept his head low and made sure to graduate from high school and applied to the Garrison. His parents were happy to see him graduate and were happy again when he got accepted to the Garrison. 

One of his brothers made the comment that it was because of the family name that they even took him, making him feel insecure. 

However, Shiro pushed that thought of doubt of his own skills to the side when he entered the Galaxy Garrison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this thought a couple of weeks ago about how the characters in Voltron don't really bond in a way where they become family. I do love Voltron, but I really wanted to play with that idea and gave each of the characters different backstories.


	3. Katherine 'Katie' Holt/Pidge Gunderson

Katie was born and raised to a loving father, a protective and supportive brother who was a year older than her, and a somewhat at times distant mother. Her father worked at the Garrison in Oregon as a teacher and her mother worked at a pharmaceutical company.

Both Matt and her dad encouraged her love and interest in technology. They would often help her tinker with old computers and teach her the basics of coding. Katie was also a sort of prodigy at school with having good grades, however, had a bit of a reputation for fighting back against bullies. She even once defended her brother when he was being harassed by his classmates. Due to this, Katie didn’t have many friends, if any. She didn’t really fit in anywhere due to her interest in mechanics and computers. She was also talked to behind her classmate's backs for being a ‘nerd’ for having good grades.

Coleen often told Katie to invite kids over and at least get some friends from school and to focus more on that than her computer. Her mother would always look at her in annoyance whenever she had to pick up Katie when she gets sent to the principal's office. Her mother would always try to tell her to act more ‘ladylike’. Her father and brother meanwhile told her to stop because those bullies were not worth her time. 

He mom would often try to take Katie out on Saturdays to look at clothes and other more traditionally girly things. Sure Katie liked dresses cause they felt comfortable and getting accessories for herself were nice, but she also wanted to look at video games, tech, and books at stores. Her mom would take her to the bookstore but would try to get her away from the tech and science books in the adult section and try to get her to read YA novels or books about romance. 

Katie went to her brother and voiced her complaints about how her mom treated her. She liked going clothes shopping on occasion but also loved going to look at games with her brother when he would occasionally join them. Their father overheard his daughters plight and went to his wife. 

Ever since Coleen was pregnant with Katie, their marriage started to break bit by bit. She would complain about him not really being there for his kids, how she wanted more time with him, her spending money on clothes and other items she doesn’t need and accusing him of cheating and abandoning her and the kids. 

However, that was far from the truth. Sam made sure to be there at all important events his children would be at, even if they were playing small parts. He would help them with whatever they needed and told them to anyways ask if they needed him. 

Same tried to explain to his wife that Katie just wanted to do things on the weekend that interested her and not just herself. Coleen yelled at Sam and left to their bedroom, locking it. Leaving Sam in the living room to sleep. His children came to check on him and he assured them that everything will be alright.

However afterward, Coleen became more and more distant. She wouldn’t do the typical weekend shopping with the children, instead, she would go out on her own, leaving the kids at home. She would refuse to take them anywhere when Sam asks her to when he is busy, stating that since their kids hate her, that she won’t make them spend time with her. 

Katie felt as if this was her fault since her mom would always either not look at her or glare at her. However, her brother and father assured her that she didn’t do anything wrong and that her mother was in the wrong. This got Katie to change from hating herself to hating her mother. 

The mother and the daughter then started to argue and argue over small and big things. One time, Matt had a stand for a science fair and was looking forward to his family to be there. Their dad and sister showed up, but his mom didn’t. Katie knew how much this meant to her brother, so she confronted her mother. It ended with yelling and Coleen throwing harsh words like how she never wanted kids and only ever did it for Sam. 

From then on, Coleen distanced herself even more. She wouldn’t eat with the others and would even rent out hotel rooms since ‘clearly they don’t want her around’. However, she would still come by to the house and completely ignore the kids. 

People in the small town they lived in had known of the Holt’s and their problems and would gossip about it. Once Katie told them to shut up when she was only a couple of feet away from them. Matt and Sam know of this, but don’t say anything about it and Coleen ignores them. 

Sam had already thought of divorcing his wife before that blow-up, but now he was a bit more sure about what to do. He thought he had to do this, for his kids and himself. He was being offered to be moved to another Garrison base in Arizona. He thought that this would be good for the kids. It would give them all a fresh start.

One day, on one of the few days where Coleen was at home on the weekends, Sam went out to meet up with a friend, whilst Matt and Katie went to the mall. However, due to bad weather, the two kids rushed back on their bikes to not get too soaked. Once home, they heard some giggling coming from the living room. At first, Katie thought it was their parents, however, the other giggle was a lot deeper than dads.

They both sneak into the living room and shocked, they see their mom making out with some stranger. Matt loudly explains a ‘What the hell?!’, causing the two adults to jump up. The man and Coleen jump up, looking disheveled. Coleen asked them what they were doing here, which Matt answered that they lived there and shot back what she was doing. The man yells at Coleen, saying that she told him that she was single. The man then quickly cleans himself up and storms out of the door into the pouring rain. 

Both Matt and Coleen then yelled at each other, whilst Katie stands there in shock. Deep down, she had hoped that her mother would come around and be a big happy family again. She would never admit it to either her dad or brother since she saw how much in pain they were by Coleen’s actions.

What snapped her out of her thoughts was when she heard a loud smack. She sees Matt having been hit in the face by their mother. 

From there, Katie’s memories are a bit of a blur. Her brother later told her that she went ballistic. She started to screech, pushing Coleen out of the house whilst telling her to leave their lives and to never touch her brother again. She then locked the door and told her brother to call their dad whilst she locked the rest of the doors whilst crying and once done, she fell over and fell asleep. When she woke up later, Katie was on the couch with her dad and brother on the couch with her cuddled up and had fallen asleep. 

Sam and Coleen soon divorced and shortly there afterward, Sam and the siblings moved to Arizona. 

From there, Sam, Matt, and Katie were well off. They had a peaceful life without yelling and tension in their new home. 

Matt was soon able to join the Garrison and quickly made his way through with his studies. He even met up with an online friend of his, named Shiro. 

Katie knew Shiro from when he would come by and even spent a Christmas with them after her father found out that Shiro didn’t want to go back home, so he made the excuse to Shiro’s family that he was studying during the holidays once Shiro told him some of his upbringings. 

After that Christmas, Sam, Shiro, and Matt went on the Kerberos mission. During this time, Pidge had to stay with her mom and her new boyfriend until they came back. 

Katie wasn’t treated well whilst there. She was often neglected, not really cared for, her mom's boyfriend would go through her stuff, overall that experience was horrible. However what got her to push through was the thought that she would soon turn 18, join the Garrison and surprise her dad, brother, and Shiro when they came back. She held back the fact that she signed up to join the Garrison, wanting to surprise them. 

However, not everything goes as planned.

The news came to a couple of days after her birthday. 

The Kerberos Mission was a failure. 

Her mother and boyfriend didn’t really care and glared at Katie when she stood there in the messy living room, with tears trailing down her face.

Katie spends the day in her room crying, whilst trying to find answers. 

She knew she couldn’t hack into the system of the Garrison without arousing suspicion. She would be the first one to be suspected of hacking into official governmental files.

So instead, she builds her own laptop from scratch and created a fake ID on it under the name Pidge Gunderson, and started to look into any hints. 

She shortly thereafter joined the Garrison, hoping to maybe find her dad, Matt, and Shiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this thought a couple of weeks ago about how the characters in Voltron don't really bond in a way where they become family. I do love Voltron, but I really wanted to play with that idea and gave each of the characters different backstories.


	4. Keith Kogane

Keith never really knew his father. 

Growing up with his mom, Bora, she never really told him what his name was or who he was. 

Keith also never got to know his mom’s side of the family. After finding out Bora had a child without being married or Bora telling them who the father was, she was disowned and never wanted to meet Keith. 

They lived in a shack, with his mom working a number of jobs in a nearby small town. He also attended the nearby school. He got rather good grades but didn’t make friends that easily. This was more so during his elementary school years, however. He would often read situations incorrectly and fight other kids as well. At times, he wouldn’t know why he would fight when someone would act around him in a certain way. Bora often went to the principal's office to pick up Keith. She would later explain to Keith that he got that from his father and that it will fade over time. 

In middle and high school, Keith’s personality became less closed off and he gained more friends. He joined a number of sports teams but mostly paying attention to his karate lessons. To him, they were comforting in a way. He just didn’t know why. In school, he was seen as a prodigy. 

When Keith turned 16, his mom gave him a blade with an interesting symbol on it. Bora explains that it was something his dad would have wanted for him to have. Keith would try to ask questions, however, Bora would tell him that she will tell him when he is older. 

That didn’t stop him from looking up what the symbol meant. He looked at every known language, but nothing showed Keith what the symbol meant. He guessed that maybe his father’s side of the family came up with their own language or something like that. 

Ever since Keith could remember, he and his mom would on the weekends look up at the clear night sky to look at the stars. Bora would tell Keith facts about space and her time in the Garrison. 

Due to that, Keith always wanted to attend the Garrison. He didn’t know why, but he felt a pull from space. Like he’s meant to go there and explore. 

When Keith finally graduated, he immediately signed up for the Garrison, who quickly accepted him and he quickly joined. 

He soon met Shiro, a fellow prodigy in the Garrison. They got along well and became friends. He also befriended Matt. Keith was a year younger than Shiro and Matt at the Garrison, so at times they couldn't meet up due to their different schedules. 

Soon the Kerberos mission started up and Keith continued to study whilst keeping up to date on the mission. 

The news of the mission had failed came when Keith just got out of class. 

That day continued in silence whilst people whispering about what could have happened. 

Keith really wanted to find out what happened, however, his mom stopped him from doing anything too rash and reassured him that she would look into it and update him. 

Keith then kept his head low and continued to work. 

Hoping to find Shiro and the Holt’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this thought a couple of weeks ago about how the characters in Voltron don't really bond in a way where they become family. I do love Voltron, but I really wanted to play with that idea and gave each of the characters different backstories.


	5. Lance McClain

Lance was born into a big family with him being the second youngest child of his parents. A month before Lance’s found out that she was pregnant, one of his older sisters died in a car crash. So when the news of his mother being pregnant, they thought that this was a bad sign. 

However when his younger sister was born, named Alicia after the sister she never knows, they were over the moon with joy. 

Lance noted at a young age how his family would act very differently towards him in comparison to Alicia. 

When he hurt himself like having a cut, his parents would roll their eyes at his tears and his older siblings would tell him to get over it. When his sister would have the same injury, his parents would dote over her and his siblings would sneak her a cookie. 

If Lance wanted to have a toy from a shop, his mother would tell him they don’t have the money. When his sister would ask for something, his mom would drop everything and get Alicia what she wants.

When Lance needed help with school work or anything else, his parents would ignore him and tell him to not be ‘stupid’. Meanwhile when Alicia was having the slightest hint of problems with any task, any sibling or one of their parents would come to help her. 

Whenever it was either his Birthday or Christmas, Lance would maybe get 3 or 4 small presents, whilst Alicia was spoiled. 

The pattern was pretty clear, Lance would be looked over whilst Alicia would be doted on.

But that didn’t mean Lance hated his sister.

When Alicia would get some candy, she would share with Lance. She would share her new toys with Lance, try and help him with tasks and homework, and would pay him attention and be there for him and he would in return as well. They were pretty close.

Their parents would continue to ignore Lance and the older siblings would take their frustration out on Lance. They would mostly yell insults at Lance, calling him stupid, useless and other insults. At times, he would even be beaten up by those siblings. His parents would also throw insults at him. 

Whilst at school, Lance would put up a facade. He would be the class clown, who also knew when to shut up. He was a decent student, who seemed to be a jack-of-all-trades. He would be skilled in social situations and would make friends quickly. Some of his teachers said that they saw potential in him. 

The McClain’s were noted in the town for being respectable and seen as the ideal family. The family would often host barbeques in their yard. They would also host parties on the New Years. They would come to bake sales, school events and other events in town. Wherever there was a big event, the McClain’s would be there. 

It was during these outing events that Lance was treated like a part of the family. His siblings would lightly tease him and play with him. His parents would listen to him. Everything to an outsider of the family thought that the family was normal. 

However, things weren’t that perfect. 

Lance would get critiqued at home for having a B instead of an A in a test. About not being the main lead in a play, about not being the president of a club at school, for having ‘weird’ friends. Pretty much, anything Lance would try it, would not be enough for his parents or siblings. 

Meanwhile, Alicia was praised for having a B or a C, was assured that any minor role in a play that she was in was important enough for them to see. Her being a part of a club got her parents excited and her siblings would ask her questions. 

When he first started high school, one of Lance’s uncles named Marco, came to live with the McClain’s in a house not too far from them. He had just lost his wife and son in a car crash and was looking for comfort during his grief with his sister. 

Lance often came over along with Alicia after school. The other siblings would come on occasion, but not as often as those two would. Marco could tell something was up with how Lance would physically act when he would be called over to come back home. He also noted how Alicia would give him a reassuring look to seemingly calm Lance down. This did set something off and got Marco to wonder what was going on. 

Whenever Marco came to visit, he would try to notice any signs, thinking that Lance was doing something or that his parents and siblings were giving him some pressure. However the first couple of times of coming over, nothing seemed to stick out. 

It wasn’t until Marco had to come by unannounced to pick up a pan he wanted to use that evening did he hear the yelling. He couldn’t clearly hear what they were yelling about, but it sounded like they were yelling at someone. Alicia opened the door and tried to tell Marco that everything was fine, trying to keep up the perfect reputation her parents wanted to keep untouched. Marco saw how distressed his niece looked and tried to ask what was going on. He then heard his sister yelling at Alicia to close the door, which she did with fear in her eyes. 

This didn’t stop Marco from banging on the door and yelling for them to open up. Something was clearly wrong and he wasn’t about to walk away. Finally, his brother-in-law opened the door and quickly put on a clearly fake smile on his face when he saw who was banging the door. 

He was let in and once inside, everyone was acting normal, as if there hadn’t been any yelling. He looked around and didn’t see either Lance nor Alicia. The others asked him what brought him to their home. 

Marco quickly made a decision. 

He asked for a big frying pan they had and also for Lance and Alicia to help him. 

His sister tried to cover up by saying the kids were doing their homework, despite the fact that is was the middle of summer vacation. She also insisted that she or any of the other kids would gladly help him. 

Marco knew how much appearances mattered to her, so he stated that he had a friend over that worked at a nice university that wanted to meet Lance and Alicia. He explains that he told his friend about them and could help get them to attend a nice college. 

The family finally relent and he then waits outside for his niece and nephew to come out. After a couple of minutes, Lance and Alicia come out and join their uncle and they walk to his place. Lance was holding the pan, and when Marco reached out to carry it for him, he flinched and Alicia looked guarded. Marco then gently asked Lance if he could carry the pan for him. However, Lance shook his head no and they continued walking. 

Finally, at his home, he asks them what had happened earlier. Alicia at first covers up and asks where that friend was. Marco admits that his friend wasn’t there and that he lied so that he could ask them if they were okay. 

They all sat at the kitchen table, the fryingpan forgotten in the kitchen. Whilst filling their glasses, Lance finally breaks the silence.

He explains that he had knocked something over at a party earlier that day and that his parents were embarrassed by him. He mutters that he probably deserved it since he ruined one of their neighbor's dress.

However, Alicia tells him that he didn’t do anything wrong and that their parents were in the wrong. That they had no right to act like that all the time with Lance. How just because he did one mistake didn’t make him a failure. 

Their uncle then asks them what did they mean by ‘acting like that all the time’.

Alicia, very passionately and with a fire in her eyes, tells Marco how their family always was looking after their image to the town, how whenever Lance did anything slightly wrong or even nothing at all that they would yell, insult and hurt him. How she for whatever reason is seen as the favorite and gets all of the special treatment from their parents and siblings. And added in how before they just left the house that one of their sisters quickly put foundation on Lance’s face for having a black eye from their father and that they have covered up his wounds like that for a while. 

Whilst telling Marco this, Lance is trying to not let the dam break on him. He didn’t want to break down and have his parents and siblings hate him more than they already do. 

Marco meanwhile got Alicia to calm down and get her to take a sip of water before turning to his nephew. He sees how close Lance was to breaking, so he gently asks him if this was true. 

Lance’s reply was that of a sob. 

That’s all that Marco needed for an answer. 

Everything afterward for Lance was a panicked blur. He roughly remembers his uncle calling the police and them taking statements and pictures of Lance’s injuries and doctors also took a look at him. His parents were arrested along with his siblings. Had to testify in court, whilst his parents and siblings were glaring at him and at one point his mother yelling at him how he is ruining everything in their family. His parents and siblings who were of age ended up in jail whilst the younger ones in juvie. 

He and Alicia were then officially adopted by Marco, who during all of that was more of a parent than their parents were. They soon decided to move elsewhere to start fresh. They eventually settled in a home in Miami.

Once settled in, Lance went to therapy and Alicia went to a separate one herself to help cope with the trauma and Marco helping to give them a more normal home life. 

Lance didn’t fully know what he wanted to do in life, but always liked the idea of flying or piloting. He also loved space and wanted to maybe even explore it. He started to read up on space and facts about the Garrison and started to study hard to possibly get in. In a way, he wanted to prove to his parents and siblings that he wasn’t dumb and that he could have a great future without their help.

His sister and uncle supported him on him wanting to pursue this. They could see the determination in his eyes and would help him with studying. 

Once Lance finally graduated from high school, Lance went to sign up for the Garrison. He could remember how nervous he was, how he hoped he wouldn’t be rejected. 

He got a letter from the Garrison a couple of days later. 

He quickly read the letter. 

Lance got in.

He was going to be a fighter pilot.

That evening, him, Alicia, and Marco celebrated into the night.

Finally, Lance had a future in front of him, one that he had earned to get into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this thought a couple of weeks ago about how the characters in Voltron don't really bond in a way where they become family. I do love Voltron, but I really wanted to play with that idea and gave each of the characters different backstories.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this thought a couple of weeks ago about how the characters in Voltron don't really bond in a way where they become family. I do love Voltron, but I really wanted to play with that idea and gave each of the characters different backstories.


End file.
